


Over The Night

by Skylark



Series: Writing Commissions [5]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Radio, F/M, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst with a Happy Ending, Punk Rock, Radio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24678619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark
Summary: "This is WARC 90.3FM, bringing you the best in punk from past to present," Ethan says, grinning as he speaks.
Relationships: Hibiki | Ethan & Silver, Hibiki | Ethan/Leaf
Series: Writing Commissions [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/779259
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Over The Night

**Author's Note:**

> A very kind acquaintance requested "Ethan as a punk rock DJ." At first I tried to make pokemon parody names for the songs and bands mentioned in this story, but then I gave up. They're all real songs and bands. You can look them up on youtube if you're curious. (This story owes a great deal to my punk rock friend Jim. Everything I know about punk I learned from 15 years of excited conversations with him.)
> 
> The fic's title is from the Hyakkei track of the same name.
> 
> I wrote this as a reward for donating to a BLM-relevant fund. More information can be found at [my dreamwidth account](https://thingwithfeathers.dreamwidth.org/).

"This is WARC 90.3FM, bringing you the best in punk from past to present," Ethan says, grinning as he speaks. It's a natural posture by now to fold his arms and rest his weight against the table, bringing his mouth within an intimate distance to the microphone. "It's Sunday, May 24th, and a beautiful evening here in Goldenrod City. Whether you're out on the routes or chilling at home, I hope you've had an _awesome_ day." He taps the button to make a sound effect, transitioning to the nine o'clock segment. "It's time for our Lightning Round—we're gonna play the most requested songs of the day! We've got some old songs and some new songs this time, and I'm very excited to play 'em all for you. But first, let's start with a _very special request—_ "

Ethan's steady stream of chatter is interrupted by a sharp tap against the glass. His producer, Silver, is glaring at him. _Don't do it,_ he mouths.

Ethan's grin broadens, and he winks.

Silver's glare turns desperate. He starts furiously shaking his head.

"—from myself! This one's from me to one single person out there, you know who you are—"

Silver's banging on the glass again. Ethan announces, "Here's _Good Good Things_ by Descendants," and hits play.

Silver is already storming towards the door that separates their studio rooms. Ethan makes sure his microphone is muted before he laughs and takes off his headphones.

"You're gonna get fired," Silver snaps once he's yanked the door open.

"It'll be fine," Ethan says. "It's not like I pick the same song every time."

"That's not the problem. It's how _obvious_ you are about it."

"How else is she gonna know?" Ethan says with a breezy smile.

"She better be worth it," Silver grumbles before he slams the door again.

Ethan puts his headphones back on and bops along to the rest of the song. There isn't much of it—punk isn't known for long runtimes. When the final chords fade, Ethan savors it in silence for a beat longer before he speaks again. "How's that for a warm-up? Hope you enjoyed that. So now, without further ado, let's start the request hour!"

\--

Leaf's waiting outside the studio when he comes out, humming _Rock the Casbah_ under his breath. He skids to a stop when he sees her, eyes brightening with surprise, and she breaks into a laugh.

"You're gonna get fired," she says.

"Funny, that's what Silver said." Ethan tucks his hands into his pockets, grinning at her; she rolls her eyes and starts to walk and he trots after her, still humming.

"You rebel, you," she says.

"Well, I _am_ a punk DJ," he replies. "So? Did you like it?"

"It's a cute song," she says, which isn't a no, but it's not the clear yes Ethan wants. After a moment she adds, "That's not really the question you want to be asking," which. Oh. Damn.

" _Come on down and walk with me, and tell me I'm your man,_ " he sings quietly. Leaf snorts.

"Can I make requests too?"

"You wanna listen to something?" he says, perking up. Maybe trading songs is a corny way to play out a love confession, but what can he say? He's a sucker for stuff like that. "What do you want to hear?"

Leaf puts her hand on his arm, stilling his hands as they rummage through his pockets for earbuds. She laughs quietly. "Save it for the radio. Play me some Planes Mistaken For Stars," she says without looking at him. " _Enemy Blinds._ "

His face screws up as he tries to parse meaning out of the request, and she laughs again, the sound warm this time. 

He's used to playing the long game with her by now. If Leaf didn't want his very obvious attentions, he knows she'd just come out and say so. And she's still come by at midnight to walk with him back to the train station; that means something. 

"Anything for you," he says at last.

\--

Since Ethan started playing songs for "a certain special someone" at the beginning of the station's most popular segment, their twitter feed has been bustling with speculation. Most of the songs were romantic at first, at least tangentially—The Buzzcocks, _See Her Tonight_ by the Damned—but once he plays Leaf's Planes Mistaken By Stars request the station's feed _explodes._

"I take it back," Silver says grudgingly. "The boss is saying he might give you a raise."

"Sweet," Ethan says, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head. Silver leans over to refresh the feed and Ethan's eyes flick over the most recent tweet: _Did they bang???? Does he regret it??? omg what does it MEAN_

Ethan reaches over and closes the browser tab. Silver sighs. "You got a song for tonight?" he says.

"Always," he says. Silver looks at him for another moment, his eyes narrowed.

"Is it from her?" he asks.

"Yeah."

"Is it any better than the last one?"

"Yeah, actually," Ethan says, starting to smile a little. "At least I _know_ this one doesn't mean anything. She just really likes Sleater-Kinney."

He's been playing songs for her for the last few weeks, so she makes up for it over the next while. A lot of it is just stuff she likes—Black Flag, Bikini Kill, Bad Religion. She spends over a week just playing Strike Anywhere's album _Change is a Sound,_ one song request at a time; at one point she asks for Dessa, and when Ethan says that isn't punk she says "Come on, she's cut from the same cloth," and he sighs and gives in and plays _Fighting Fish._

But some of it isn't. She asks for Slater-Kinney again, their track _Oh_ , and the chorus makes him laugh (and makes twitter wonder if they've gotten together for real this time). And then there's the night where she's walking home with him, listening to Ethan talk about the track she chose that night. Ethan's getting amped up as he talks about the lyrics until he's practically shouting them in the middle of the sidewalk, and it takes until they get to the station before he realizes she hasn't said a single thing the whole evening.

"You okay?" he says, looking at her face. Her head is tilted down.

"Play me a song?" she says.

"Now?" he says, smiling. By now it's an old joke. But she doesn't smile back, and the expression slips from his face.

She shakes her head. "On the radio," she says. " _Hold me Down_ by Motion City Soundtrack."

There's quiet between them for a moment. Ethan bites his lip.

"You know, if you don't want me to—"

"I want you to," she says too quickly. She looks up and dredges up a smile from somewhere. "See you tomorrow."

The next day, he plays the song:

_You're the laziness of afternoon,  
You're the reason why I burst and why I bloom_

_How will I break the news to you?_

The next night she's not waiting for him. He waits for her that time, fiddling with his fingers and missing the pockets of his jacket; it's getting warm out, and in just his black t-shirt he feels unguarded. The delay makes him run to the station after. He almost misses the last train, but he gets home in the end.

\--

His phone rings the next morning, way too early. Ethan groans and rolls over, saying a croaky "Hello?" when he manages to answer the call.

"Sorry I missed you last night," Leaf says, and Ethan sits straight up in bed. The bedsheet slides from his shoulders to pool in his lap, and the cool air from the fan hits his skin with a shock.

"It's—" well, it's _not_ fine, so he's at a loss for words for a moment. "Are you okay?" he says instead.

Leaf breathes out, a surprised huff of air. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...thought you wouldn't want to see me after I asked you to play that."

"I always want to see you," Ethan says.

There's silence on the line for a little while. Ethan's used to filling noise, always aware of the number one radio rule of _Never let it go silent_ , but he can tell that it's a thinking kind of quiet. He holds his tongue for as long as he can.

"We can stop, if you want," he says.

"Do you want to stop?"

"No," and his voice sounds wavering and small, so he clears his throat and tries again. "No. I've liked you since the first time I met you, Leaf, you know that."

"I..." Leaf swallows. "I'm kind of messed up," she says. "There's a lot you don't know about me...a lot I don't know if I want you to know."

"I know lots about you," Ethan says. "You like Strike Anywhere a _lot._ And sometimes you listen to Bis, but only when you're really sad or upset. And also, you never finished your gym league challenge and sometimes you're still sad about it."

Leaf takes a sharp breath.

"That's what you were saying, right?" Ethan says, gently. "That's why you were gonna go."

"I...yeah," Leaf says, and the word rushes out of her with relief. "I like you, but I never planned to stick around here for long. I thought you were interested in me because you didn't know I was leaving."

Ethan grins. "Come on, Leaf," he says. "Haven't you listened to our station? WARC 90.3FM, the best in punk— _tune in from coast to coast._ You can tune into our station from anywhere in Kanto or Johto."

Leaf gives a shaky laugh. "You're really something else," she says, but the hesitation is wiped from her voice. Now there's only a deep fondness, and Ethan's smile widens in response. "Okay. I'm leaving today, so pick a good song to send me off."

"I won't let you down," he promises.

\--

"We're officially dating!" Ethan crows into the microphone. Silver's head snaps up with shock; Ethan flashes him two thumbs-up through the glass. "So for today, I'm gonna play the very first song I ever played for them on the air. _I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend_ by The Ramones!"

As the mushy-sweet song plays, Ethan checks his phone. Leaf has sent him a row of laughing emojis, and then: _See you later, boyfriend._

The text makes him flush a brilliant red. When he looks up, Silver is smirking at him. He bursts out laughing, flicks over to his twitter feed which is blowing up with excitement and congratulations, and then laughs and laughs some more.


End file.
